March Madness 2010 Picks

March Madness 2010 picks come as we realize the potential for some big upsets. 

"I think it's going to be an excellent tournament," said Billy McKinney, the Milwaukee Bucks' director of scouting in an interview with the Journal Sentinel. "Looking at the tournament and even listening to the head coaches, from top to bottom there's parity in this year's tournament. There are a couple teams - Kentucky is very good and Kansas is very good - but I think there's going to be some teams that are going to surprise some people this year. So I think it will be a pretty balanced tournament. There could be some big upsets.

"All of the people who like to prepare the brackets, I don't think it's going to be set in stone (as far as who is going to win). There are going to be a couple teams where people say, 'OK, you look at Kansas is very strong and Kentucky is very strong, and some of the other teams . . . Syracuse.' But all of those teams are capable of losing games. All it takes is one time at the NCAA tournament."

Some possible Cinderella teams include the likes of Murray State, Cornell Big Red, St. Mary's (Calif.), Siena, Northern Iowa, San Diego State or Texas A&M, according to the Journal Sentinel.  But among the solid March Madness 2010 picks, the one team to really keep a close eye on is Butler (the -3 favorite vs. Texas El Paso in the first round).  They take their 20-game winning streak into this tournament.

Murray State is raising many eyebrows.

From Associated Content:

"Don't let the lousy conference and weak non-conference record fool you. The Racers go five deep, something you won't find in every Cinderella school. As with Northern Iowa, Murray State (+3 vs. Vanderbilt in the first round) can control the ball and play shutdown defense when necessary. Freshman guard Isaiah Canaan comes off the bench and is a 46 percent three point shooter. Murray State also put up quite the fight against Cal at the beginning of the season."

The Siena Saints (+4 odds vs. Purdue in the first round) are also viewed as a dangerous sleeper team.